Between 2017 and 2024, completely electric cars are expected to "become the rational choice for motorists in Europe," the report said, as EV showroom prices fall due to cheaper batteries and EV ranges increasing. Charging infrastructure is also expected to become more widespread, in part due to government support.

Stanford University economist Tony Seba, who published a separate report on EVs, made a similar forecast for worldwide adoption.

"Our findings clearly indicate that essentially all vehicle miles travelled will be electric by 2040 [worldwide]," he told The Guardian. "The car industry faces an imminent technology disruption by AEVs [autonomous electric vehicles] in the early 2020s. Even without autonomous technology, the internal combustion engine car industry will have been long decimated by 2040."